UTPA shuts down No. 8 Texas A&M

McCasland, Sa combine to beat Aggies for first time since 2002

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Texas-Pan American pitchers Colby McCasland and Jonathan Sa combined to limit No. 8 Texas A&M to two runs on five hits in a 5-2 victory on Wednesday at Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.

It is the Broncs' (9-1) first win against the Aggies (14-4) since 2002, breaking a nine-game losing streak.

“It's a good win for the program. It's a good win for the athletic department. It's a good win for the university,” said Broncs head coach Manny Mantrana. “We're just very, very happy for everybody involved, for UTPA and all of Bronc Nation.”

Colby McCasland started for the Broncs, allowing just one run, which scored on a wild pitch in the first inning, on three hits and two walks while striking out one. The Aggies put runners at first and third with two outs in the fifth to knock out McCasland, but Jonathan Sa (1-0) came in and got Tyler Naquin to ground into a fielder's choice on the first pitch he threw to escape the threat.

Sa pitched the rest of the way, allowing one run on two hits while striking out four. He retired the final eight batters he faced.

“I was just thinking, let my defense work like they've been doing all game, throw it over and get a strike,” said Sa. “This is huge. It kind of puts us on the map.”

The Broncs took advantage of two errors by the Aggies in the top of the third to take a 3-1 lead. Andy Fortuna led off the inning with a single against Derrick Hadley (1-1). One out later, Roger Bernal reached on an error. One out after that, Vincent Mejia singled to left field to score Fortuna. Left fielder Brandon Wood couldn't field the ball cleanly, and when it got by him, Bernal scored and Mejia moved to second. Chris Torres followed with an RBI-single to cap the inning.

The Broncs loaded the bases with one out in the top of the fifth to set-up an RBI-double by Torres that made it 5-1.

“I was looking to drive something into the outfield and maybe get a sac-fly,” Torres said. “I got some good barrel on it and it worked out. We worked really hard [today], and to see us get a good win is nice. It feels good.”

“Our pitching was really, really good,” said Mantrana. “Colby did a marvelous job… Jonathan Sa came in and he closed the game out. The defense played well and we swung the bats really, really well. It was a total team effort and I'm very proud of the guys.”

The Broncs return home for a doubleheader against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Tuesday.